Marathon Week 6, Day 1

Even though I have not posted any information lately, training is going forward at full pace. (I might use that as one of the reasons I did not post during Week 5.) One significant point from last week: on Wednesday, July 23, I ran my fastest 5k in the past 27 years, covering the 3.1 miles in 19:19.

As Tommie notes, our assignment today was to our "best" 5k, rest for half of the time it took to complete the 5k, and then run a second 5k! This is the first of three times that this workout will come up on our training schedule, and I was wondering from the start exactly what it would feel like.we ran our first 5k in under 20 minutes (at 19:58) and then set out, after ten minutes of rest, on our second 5k. I found out right away what this “Speed Work, Speed Work” was going to improve for me: leg strength. I felt like I was lugging a couple of tree stumps along Foothill Boulevard for the first mile of the second 5k. I believe this is where Tommie and I lost most of our 30 seconds on the second run, with miles 2, 3, and 3.1 about as fast as they were the first time through. Second 5k for me: 20:25, which might not have happened without Tommie right there the whole way. Funny note from the run: Tommie’s watch did not start at 00:00:00 on the first run, so he did not know right away that it was his fastest 5k ever. His fatigue in completing the run probably had him baffled while he was thinking he took over 23 minutes. It was nice to see his reaction when he found out he knocked almost a half minute off of his PR time from last week. The Juggernaut rocks!

Originally posted at Marathon Week 6, Day 1